The Cuckoos have arrived

On Sunday 25th September I was sailing from Rathmines to Belmont, and heard the unmistakable, raucous shrieks of two Channel-billed cuckoos - my first observations of this enormous, migratory cuckoo for Spring 2016.  

Channel-Billed Cuckoos heard calling at Rathmines & Skye Point, Sunday 25th September 2016   

One bird was calling near the Catalina flying boat memorial, which is a propellor mounted on a pillar in a lonely area of park.  The other was calling from a mature stand of tall Eucalypts & Angophoras near the far south-western end of Skye Point.  

 

Yesterday (Wednesday 28th September 2016), I heard the equally distinctive calls of an Eastern Koel, calling a patch of remnant bush in suburban Maitland during my lunch break, 13:30 - 14:00.       

These are both common, secure species, but these are interesting records as they are both migratory species.  These were the first sightings of both species of cuckoos I have had for Spring 2016.  I have recorded both sightings with the Atlas of Living Australia.  

The seasons are definitely changing at the moment.  The days are getting noticeably warmer and it is lighter much earlier in the morning now - in fact, Daylight savings time starts this weekend.